Maine's shrimp season was curtailed by nearly 75 percent on Monday after scientists warned that the shrimp population is at risk because of overfishing and environmental conditions.
The commission said the 2013 season had to be curtailed because the northern shrimp stock has been overfished and water temperatures are the highest on record.
The state's USD 70 million shrimp industry, which employs 1,500 fishermen, boat crew members, shippers and processing workers, will open later than usual and be limited to 26 percent of last year's catch.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which met Monday in Portland, set the season's catch limit at 1.38 million pounds, down from 5.3 million pounds caught last year.
In 2011, a total of 13.3 million pounds of shrimp were harvested.
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